


What Are You Doing Here?

by Lady_Felucia



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Absent Parents, Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, Armitage Hux Needs A Hug, Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren Fluff, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Domestic Fluff, Family Fluff, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fluffy Ending, Gay Male Character, I Ship It, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Kylux - Freeform, Love, M/M, Making Up, Marriage, Romantic Fluff, Same-Sex Marriage, Short & Sweet, Short Story, Soft Kylux, True Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-19 13:32:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17002602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Felucia/pseuds/Lady_Felucia
Summary: Armitage Hux and Ben Solo have been married for nearly ten years. While their love for each other is perfect, not everything else in their lives is; in particular, the relationship that either man has with their respective fathers.One week, however, throws fathers and sons together, and forces them to find ways of dealing with one another.





	What Are You Doing Here?

Hux stepped out of the shower and began to hurriedly get dressed. He had woken up late and was in a rush to get going to work. Traffic was a nightmare at this time of day, so he always tried to be on the road a little earlier than necessary, to ensure he made it on time.

He stepped into the bedroom, and was vaguely surprised that Ben wasn't in the bed where he had left him. He was about to call out to him, but, listening, he heard the sound of him speaking softly in the kitchen.

 _He must be on the phone,_ he surmised as he went back into the bathroom to style his hair.

Ben had his own private line installed in the house, separate from the main line, for his clients. He had started his own graphic design business over a year ago, putting together advertisements, websites, banners, and a variety of things for other paying customers. Hux was skeptical of this venture at first, but had been supportive. And it turned out his support was warranted; Ben was quite talented, and had a regular number of clients that came to him for his services, as well as new clients every month generated from positive word of mouth. This past year, he had earned enough money for them to make a down payment on this house, moving them out of their cramped little apartment and into the suburbs. He worked primarily from home, having turned their basement into his own workshop and design studio.

Hux's job, while more conventional, was satisfying to him regardless. He was a accountant at a large firm in the city. Hux had always been brilliant, in everything he had undertaken. Working with numbers and data appealed to Hux's sense of order, and logical thinking.

Of course, his relationship with Ben went beyond the realm of "logical" thinking. But Hux was fine with that.

He had met Ben during their freshman year of high school, and at first the two couldn't stand each other. Ben couldn't stand Hux's 'stick up his ass' attitude, and Hux couldn't stand Ben's lackadaisical approach to life. One day, however, they were assigned to work together on a project, and they started spending time with each, after school and on weekends, to complete it. The more they got to know each other, the friendlier they became. They were surprised to learn that they had more in common with one another, and more shared interests, than they'd imagined.

By the end of freshman year, they were best friends. By the middle of sophomore year, they were dating. Beyond that, they had been inseparable. After high school, they moved in together while each attended separate colleges, and by the time they graduated, Ben had proposed to him. They got married on the anniversary of their first official date, and had been married for almost 10 years.

They had their problems, definitely. Both had very strong personalities, and often clashed over the simplest of things. But Hux loved Ben more than any single person in the entire universe, and he knew Ben felt the same about him.

This time when Hux came back out of the bathroom, Ben had returned to the bed, and stood up quickly when Hux walked in, smiling.

"Who was on the phone?"

Instead of answering, Ben lifted him off of his feet and backed him into the opposite wall, both hands planted on Hux's narrow hips, keeping him there.

"You smell incredible," he drawled in his low, sexy voice. He put his nose to Hux's neck, inhaling deeply. Hux broke out in goosebumps along his arms, but he didn't have time for Ben and his amorous nonsense right that minute, so he tried to push him off.

"Gotta finish getting ready, babe. Let go."

Ben just smirked and shook his head.

"Kiss me, you sexy bastard."

Without waiting for him to comply, Ben attacked Hux's lips, gripping his face and planting several sloppy kisses to the flustered man.

"B-Ben ! BEN!", Hux stuttered, trying to free himself from Ben's grasp. "Stop it! What's --"

Ben cut him off with another deep kiss, gentler this time, but still quite forceful.

"You look so good today," Ben purred into his ear, beginning to kiss along the redhead's neck. "You have about 30 or so minutes before you have to leave, right? Let's make the most of that time, sweetheart."

His hands were tugging at Hux's pants, trying to pull them down his thin body. Hux finally managed to free himself, and put some distance between himself and his unusually aggressive husband.

"Something is wrong, isn't it?," he asked quietly. "You're only like this when you're trying to distract me from something really, really wrong. What is it?"

"To immediately jump to the conclusion that my romantic attentions to you is the indication that something is _wrong_ , Hux, is extremely insulting; both to our relationship, and to my character."

Hux went to stand in front of the mirror, straightening out the clothes that Ben had ruffled. "Life would be so much easier if you were just straightforward with me. No distractions, no nonsense, just plain words. Now, try using YOUR words, and telling me what's going on."

Ben sat on the edge of the bed, looking nervous. He began playing with the fringe of his sweater's collar, raveling and unraveling a loose thread with his index finger.

"We, er, we might have a guest, within the next week."

Hux looked at Ben's reflection in the mirror. "A -- guest?"

Ben nodded, still playing with the thread. "Yeah, a guest. Someone that would be staying for about 3 days, stopping here on their way to somewhere else."

Hux turned from the mirror and sat down on the bed next to Ben. It was making him uneasy, how Ben wouldn't look directly at him. He grabbed his fidgety hand and held it still, squeezing it.

"Someone I know?"

Ben nodded. "Yes. He's very excited to come and see our new place; I was telling him all about it on the phone."

 _He?_ , thought Hux. Then something clicked in his head and he said, softly, "Really, Benjamin. Trying to seduce me into letting Han Solo crash here for a few days isn't necessary. He's not the greatest house guest, but he's far from awful. It's perfectly fine, alright?"

Ben's father was an interstate trucker, making trips all across the country. He had separated from Ben's mother, Leia, at the beginning of the year, and Hux knew that Ben was worried over the loneliness of both his parents. Han had yet to come visit in this new place of theirs, as they had only moved in a couple of months ago, and Han's schedule had been filled since then. They invited Leia to visit quite frequently, and that was nice. She was sweet, and she always filled their bellies to the point of bursting, with her amazing cooking skills. Han, well, was almost the complete opposite. He could be very gruff, and uncouth. And he drank, a lot. Alcohol served to lower his already-low inhibitions even more; once, when he had come to visit them at their old apartment, he had spent a cringe-worthy hour graphically detailing why he believed his son to be the "top" in Ben's relationship with Hux. But still and all, deep down, Han was a nice man, and he had love for his son, and son-in-law. 

Hux kissed Ben's cheek and patted his hand, before standing up and reaching for his overcoat. "I should get going. We can resume the kissing and the _other_ delights when I get back, okay?"

He was halfway through the bedroom door when Ben called out, softly, "Its not my dad."

Hux turned around and came back in, tilting his head and looking at him. 

"Not your dad? Oh, Jesus, is it your crazy uncle Luke?"

Ben shook his head. "No. No, it's not my uncle. If I tell you who, do you promise not to get angry?"

Hux folded his arms across his chest, fixing Ben with his sternest glare. "I'm afraid you've already irritated me to the point where such a promise isn't possible, dear. Now spit it out. Who could possibly --"

" _Your_ father."

Hux could feel his face go as red as an apple, and it felt like a tidal wave was crashing down with brute force over his entire body. He sat back down beside Ben, quickly, before his legs had the chance to go out.

"My--my father? Brendol?"

"Yes. I --"

"What. In. The. Fucking. Hell. Were. You. Doing. Talking. To. Him?", Hux asked haltingly, his teeth clenched together painfully.

Hux and his father had had a tumultuous relationship since Hux was a child. Hux's mother had died before Hux turned 10, and years later Hux discovered, upon finding a box of old letters, that Brendol had been cheating on his wife when she was at her sickest. Brendol was also a workaholic, throwing himself into his business even more after his wife died. He went on business trips to foreign countries and left Hux in the care of a maid (when he was young) or completely on his own (when he was a teenager) for days, sometimes whole weeks, at a time. Hux had learned to be almost totally self-sufficient by the time he was 14. Brendol's attempts to connect with Hux in his adult years as been largely rebuffed by his son, and, with the exception of holidays, they never really talked to one another.

"He _called_. I _answered_ , Ben replied now, defensively. "He wanted to talk to you, but you were in the shower. He's coming through on a trip to see your aunt, and this place is on his way. He clearly wanted an invite to stay, so I invited him. What was I supposed to do, say no?"

"YES! You SHOULD have said no, you SHOULD have told him to go fuck himself, Ben! I can't believe I even have to say this to you!"

"Hux, come on. Don't you think it's time to --"

Hux picked up the water glass siting on the nightstand and threw it against the wall. The smashing sound it created made Ben jump a little. He was used to Hux getting verbally upset, but this was the first time he had reacted physically. It scared him just the tiniest bit.

"Hey, that's not fair. I'M the one who's supposed to get angry and have breaking-stuff meltdowns, remember?", Ben joked nervously, attempting to calm Hux.

But his teasing tone had the opposite effect. Hux whirled around and advanced on him, his blue eyes spitting fire, and Ben backed away from his anger.

"Do you think this is _funny_? Is it amusing to you that I trusted you to NOT sneak around behind my back, NOT to be talking to that snake, NOT to invite the devil into our home without so much as consulting me about it?!"

"Hux, please, calm down," Ben pleaded, putting his hand on Hux's shoulder. "Your face looks like you're about to have a stroke or something. Come on, we can sit and rationally talk about this, like adults. Okay?"

But Hux shook his hand off and stalked out to the living room.

"I'm late for work," he said. He grabbed his coat and his keys and was out the door without another word.

^^^^

"What do you want?", Hux grumbled, turning over on his side.

It was about 2 in the morning, and Hux was woken up by the sound of the bedroom door creaking open.

After he had gotten home from work, he still had been in no mood to talk to his infuriating husband. After a tense, silent dinner, Hux had taken a shower, then went into the bedroom and shut the door behind him, quietly letting Ben know that his destiny lay with the living room sofa, for the evening.

Or at least, that had worked for a few hours.

"The couch is cold," Ben said dolefully, lacing his voice with as much sadness as possible.

Hux, however, seemed unmoved. "There's extra blankets in the closet. Go away."

Ben huffed and went to stand on the side of the bed by Hux's face. 

"Come on, Hux. What do I have to do, to get you to forgive me?"

"You mean besides jumping off a cliff?", Hux asked, turning to the other side. Ben followed him.

"If that's what it takes, fine. I'll go right now. Really, I will."

"Don't let me stop you," Hux said, turning around once more. This time Ben got into the bed and leaned up and over Hux, so that he was directly in his face.

"What if I sing to you?", he asked hopefully. In spite of himself, Hux felt the very tiniest of smiles break out on his face.

"If your goal is to make me hate you even more, then by all means: sing away."

Grinning, Ben crooned, "’You're just too good to be true, can't take my eyes off of you; you'd be like heaven to touch, I wanna hold you so much . . .’"

Hux burst into laughter, unable to stay angry any longer. He grabbed Ben and pulled him down on top of him, kissing him passionately. When he let Ben go, the latter said, with a smirk, "Oh thank God that worked. My first choice was Bohemian Rhapsody, but I'm not sure I have the range for that."

Hux sat up and pulled back the covers. "Alright; get into bed, you asshole."

Ben gratefully settled himself under the covers, snuggling in next to Hux.

"You still mad at me?", he asked, after a few moments of silence.

"Yes, but not as much as before. It's hard to stay upset with someone who has such an attractive face," he said, leaning over and kissing Ben's lips.

"Really, I'm the whole package. I can sing, I've got a pretty face, and I'm good with my hands. Would you like a demonstration?", he asked, slipping his hand beneath the covers.

"I haven't forgiven you quite that much, dear. I suspect I won't want any 'demonstrations' from you until _after_ the old bastard leaves."

Ben sighed and brought his hand back up, putting it on Hux's chest, instead.

"You know I didn't do this with the intention of hurting you. But babe, your dad . . . you know he's getting older, and, the way he was talking on the phone--I think he wants to connect with you. I know you say it's too late for that, but I don't believe that, I don't believe it's ever 'too late'. And deep down I know you feel the same way, too."

Hux nodded reluctantly. Then he smiled and said, jokingly, "It's really a scary situation, when YOU'RE the Voice of Reason in any scenario."

"Very true. But there's another aspect to this, something more in-line with my inherently selfish nature."

"What?"

"You don't think I want to show this off to, to someone other than my own family, or our friends? To flaunt that I've finally got my shit together, and I'm living with my soulmate in a pretty house with pretty pets?", he asked Hux, nuzzling him beneath the chin. Hux smiled and put his arms around Ben, letting out a small sigh through his nose.

"Wait a second -- pretty pets? We don't have any pets!"

"Which brings me to my next point: one of my clients, her dog had puppies last month. The mom is a chocolate lab. She's trying to find good homes for them. **I** was thinking, that . . ."

^^^^

Hux got out of the car slowly, and took his time walking up the sidewalk to the door.

It was early evening, and, for once, Hux hadn't wanted to come home, because he knew that HE was here, chatting away with Ben, waiting for Hux.

He.  
His father.

Hux took a deep breath and walked in, and his eyes immediately zeroed in on the man on the couch.

Tall, and a bit on the stout side. The hair that had once been the same shade as Hux's own had gone a distinguished gray, and he had grown a thick beard since Hux last saw him. 

"Armitage," his father said, standing, "It's so good to see you, son."

He walked over and timidly put his arms around Hux, patting him on the back. Hux was startled; his father had never been the hugging type, before. Nevertheless he DID hug him back, lightly, before letting go.

"It's good to see you, too, dad."

"You both have such a nice place here, son," Brendol said, sitting back on the couch. "I was telling Ben that it reminds me of our house in Tulsa. Remember?"

Hux remembered, all right. How could he not? They had lived in that house from the time Hux was born, until he was about 11 years old. It was the house his mother had passed away in. For that reason, and a thousand other unpleasant memories, he preferred to keep that part of his life locked away in his subconscious. 

So he just nodded and took a sip of the beer that Ben had brought him, sitting down in a chair across from his father.

"I figured you'd be too tired to cook, so I ordered from that new Chinese place. Should be here any minute."

Hux nodded, taking another sip of his beer. He didn't bother to question why Ben didn't just _cook_ something, himself: the last time he had tried, he had put a frozen pizza in the oven with the wrapper and the cardboard circle still attached, and had started a mini-fire. So long as his dialing finger was intact, Hux wouldn't complain.

"You cook?", Brendol asked him curiously. "You never used to. You’ve been taking lessons in how to be a good little housewife, eh?”

Clearly, Brendol has said that as a joke  
; but Hux didn’t take it as one. His face turned red, and he was seconds from letting his father have it, when Ben jumped in, instead.

"No, it's okay," Ben said quickly, laying a hand on Hux's arm to try and diffuse the situation. "Each of us just does what we're good at. I'm abysmal at cooking, so Hux cooks instead. That's it."

Brendol nodded at this, but Hux was still seething inside. He felt that Ben's explanation was more than his father deserved; Hux would have just said "Mind your own fucking business", and left it at that.

"Sorry, that was out of line," Brendol apologized. Then he switched gears and sat up straighter, pointing his finger at Hux.

"So, when are you going to make me a grandfather? I'm not getting any younger, you know."

Both Ben and Hux blushed. They had talked about children quite a bit these past few years, speaking of adoption, surrogacy, and numerous other options. Financially, they were in a good place. They were healthy, _happy_ , and had a good, strong marriage. 

But for some reason, both were reluctant to take their talks beyond the talking stage. 

Instead of saying all this to Brendol, Hux just snapped at him, defensively, "It's not like you'd ever be around to see the kid."

Brendols face fell, and he quickly took a swallow of his own beer, to mask the hurt. "I would sure try to be, son," he said, his eyes on the floor. "I would damn sure try."

"That's all we could ask for," Ben said quickly. He had put his hand on Hux's back and was rubbing it soothingly. "You know I always wish I had known my grandfather. I'd like for any kids of ours to know theirs."

The doorbell rang, and Hux jumped up to answer it, assuming it was the delivery man. He needed to get away from this conversation, fast.

He was beyond shocked to open it and find Han Solo standing there, instead.

"Hux! Commere, son!", he exclaimed, pulling the startled Hux into a hug. Hux patted him back warily, holding his breath as he did so. The man _reeked_ of whiskey.

And he had a suitcase with him.

He let go and held Hux out from him with a smile. "Thought I'd finally come and see my favorite sons' new house," he slurred, taking a few staggering steps inside.

"Dad?", Ben asked in complete disbelief. "What the hell are YOU doing here?!"

"Happy to see you too, fruit of my loins," he said, hugging Ben to him. Hux saw from Ben's face that he was smelling the alcohol, too, and was worried about it.

"Dad -- you didn't drive here, did you?"

Han shook his head. "No, no, I took a cab."

He let go of Ben, and his eyes widened when he saw Brendol.

"Bren? Is that you? Hoooooly shit!"

Brendol smiled and got up, enclosing Han in a bear hug. 

"Fucking hell, you old son of a bitch! What are you doing here?!"

"I came to crash with my son for a few days."

He turned and looked at Ben. "That is, if it's alright with him."

"Dad, I don't know. I mean we already have Brendol staying, and . . ."

"Of course he can stay," Hux said cheerfully. “We have two guest rooms, it'll just take me a bit to get it ready for you, Han."

"Hux? Can I see you in the kitchen?"

Ben turned and walked away, with Hux on his heels.

"What the fuck are you doing? Why would you ask HIM to stay, too?"

Hux folded his arms across his chest. "He's your father. How can we refuse him?"

"By telling him he either needs to go to a hotel somewhere and dry out, or stop being a dickhole and make up with my mother already!", Ben whisper-shouted, a little louder than he intended. 

Hux just shrugged. "I think it'll make for a nice friend, for MY dad. They haven't seen each other in a while, and can hang out while we both are working."

Ben glared at him. "Don't think you're fooling me, Hux. You don't really care about them or their friendship. Han is just providing you with an excuse interact with your dad as little as possible."

"I hope when we have kids, there's at least one who will be sympathetic to YOU and take you in when I get tired of you and throw you out. For god sake, it's not like they're moving in! It'll be a couple of days!"

"YOUR dad will be here a couple of days! But mine is like a cockroach; once you invite him in, he’ll stay here until he dies!"

"Are you two done making out in there or what?", Han yelled from the other room. "The food is here!"

Sighing, Hux pulled some plates and utensils from the cabinets. "It's only a couple of days, Ben. It won't kill us," he said, as he went back into the living room.

"We'll see," Ben muttered as he followed him.

^^^^

"What are you working on?"

Ben jumped a little and turned around. He had been so engrossed in his project that he hadn't even heard Hux come down the stairs.

It was hours later, and, after dinner, Han and Brendol had set up camp in the living room, watching Sportscenter and drinking. Hux had gone into the bedroom to read, and Ben had gone downstairs, to put in some work on his latest project.

He showed Hux the mock-up of a billboard he was designing for a client. 

"This is really good. Very creative," Hux praised, looking it over carefully.

"Yeah but I'm not sure the lettering is right. It just feels too -- I don't know -- cartoony. But the normal fonts seem overly dull for what the man is selling. And it can't be boring, it's got to catch people's attention."

He turned back around and started looking through font types again. Hux watched him, then went to stand behind him, putting his arms around his shoulders and kissing his neck.

Ben smiled. "What was that for?"

"For you, my sweet," Hux replied, kissing him again. "I was just in bed, thinking. You and I have been together since we were 15 years old."

"So?"

"So, that's an amazing thing. Seeing my dad here, well, it makes me think back to his shitty marriage to my mother. I always thought she deserved better than him. I think we have the kind of relationship she would have wanted."

Ben turned back around and pulled Hux down into his lap.

"Seriously, I can't believe you're not sick of my ass yet," he told Hux with a chuckle.

"Your ass is one of the best parts about you, babe,” Hux replied, giving Ben’s behind a light playful squeeze. “And I'm as sick of you as you are of me."

"Oh okay, so by that logic we're ready for divorce, then."

They both burst into laughter, then Hux put a finger to his lips and said, reminiscent of their teenage years, "Shut up, dude, you'll wake my dad up!"

Ben put his arms around Hux's waist and yanked him closer. "Do you know what the beauty of having a soundproof basement is?"

Hux started to kiss along Ben's jaw. "You mean aside from being able to quietly murder someone?"

"I could slay you right here, right now, and our fathers wouldn't hear a damn thing. That is, if you WANT me to."

"Please do," Hux murmured, before sinking them into a kiss.

^^^^

"Ben!"

His mother's arms around him were wonderful. She gave the best, the warmest hugs out of anyone he had ever met before.

It was two days later and, like Ben had predicted, Han had found an excuse to stay with them a bit longer than he’d originally said. When he’d asked Ben if he’d minded him crashing “Just til the end of the week; then I’ve got a haul to make”; Ben had politely but begrudgingly obliged him. And when Brendol asked Hux the same thing, the only thing that Hux could say was Yes.

In a way, Ben understood what was going on, here. His own father was horribly lonely, and likely sick of going from cheap motel to motel. Being in the company of his only son was soothing to him, and no less so, was being around Brendol, who going through issues of his own in trying to bond with Hux, only to be rebuffed at every turn.

This afternoon, both of the fathers had stepped out together for a run to the liquor store. Ben had been working in his studio when he’d heard the doorbell ring and, thinking that one of them had accidentally locked themselves out, ran up the stairs to answer it. He was more than a little surprised to find his mother standing on the doorstep, instead.

Hux came around the corner, and his face broke out into a large smile.

"Mom!", he exclaimed, going to hug her. "What a surprise!"

“Why didn’t you call and tell me you were coming, mom?”

"I didn’t expect to come, but well ... I have a favor to ask you both."

"You don't have to ask. Just tell us what you want, and we'll make it happen," Hux said with a smile.

"Well, earlier this morning, the furnace went out. There's no heat whatsoever in my house. I know it's asking a lot but could I stay here until it's fixed? It'll just be overnight, the repairman is coming tomorrow afternoon."

"Of course," Ben said immediately. "I hope you won't mind sleeping in our room." He turned to Hux. "We'll sleep on the folding cots in the basement."

Hux nodded. If this had been anyone else, he would have protested. But he loved Leia like she was his own mother, and, like Ben, he could never say 'no' where she was concerned.

"Sleep in your room? No! I don't want to put you out like that! The guest room will do fine for me, son."

"It's, er, occupied."

Leia looked at him in confusion. "You have another guest?"

"My father is visiting," Hux told her, working to keep the grimace off his face. 

Leia's face lit up. "Brendol is here? My God, I haven't seen him in forever. Where is he?"

"He's out right now, should be home soon though."

"Wait a second--don't you have TWO guest rooms?"

"That one is occupied, too," Ben told her quietly.

"My goodness, you boys are running quite the hotel here, aren't you? Who else is visiting?"

At that moment, Brendol and Han came back in the door, laughing, several six-packs balanced in their arms.

Han's laughter immediately died out, when he saw Leia standing there.

The two looked at each other as if unsure what to say, when Brendol  
put down his beer and went towards her with a smile.

"Oh, my God," he said, taking her hand. He bent and kissed it charmingly. "All these years, and you're STILL the loveliest woman in the world. Quick, run away with me?”

Leia blushed. "All these years and _you're_ still the biggest flirt in the world."

Brendol laughed, then put his arms around Leia, hugging her gently.

"What are you doing here?", Han asked from behind them, gruffly. 

Leia glared at him. "I have a right to see my son, don't I? Nice to see you, too, by the way."

"Mom is going to stay tonight because the furnace is out at her house, dad."

"I told you we needed to replace that furnace two years ago," Han commented to her, sitting in a chair and opening a beer.

"And I told you that when something is broken, you don't just throw it out entirely, you FIX it. What do you care, anyway? It's not like you're home to feel the cold, is it?"

"Mom --"

"Broken furnace or not, _sweetheart_ , that house has been cold for quite some time, hasn't it?"

"Dad!"

"Not as cold as a man who'd rather be out on the road 5 days a week, or at the bar with his friends, than spending any time at all with his wife!"

"That's funny because I don't remember you complaining about my 5 days a week when I bought you that new car. Or that vacation to Florida. Or when it put our son through 4 years of college!"

"Dad! Mom! That's enough!", Ben said, loudly and firmly. "Dad, mom is only staying overnight, then she's leaving. Dad and Brendol, you both are out by the end of this week. While you're here, under this roof, there will be no fighting whatsoever. Am I understood?"

All three of their guests nodded quickly.

"Okay. Now I'm going to make dinner. I expect you all to sit and have pleasant conversations with each other. Also, if you plan on drinking those beers out here, you'd damn well better be using COASTERS! Is THAT understood?"

More nods.

Ben turned and went into the kitchen, and Hux followed.

Hux was quiet for a few minutes, watching Ben dig through the fridge, before saying, cautiously,

"Would it be wrong, to say I'm really, REALLY turned on right now?"

Ben brought out the large package of chicken breasts that Hux had put out to thaw last night, still not turning around to face Hux.

"Why?"

"Because that might have been the most masterful, in-control thing I've ever heard you say. You were great."

Ben turned around to face him now, the anger gone from his face. "You mean that? Really?"

Hux put his arms around him. "Really. I’m so turned on I could just take you right on the counter.”

He began kissing him, long enough so that Ben forgot where they were, or what he was supposed to be doing. So focused on Hux's lips that neither noticed, right away, that Leia had entered the kitchen, and was waiting for either to notice her.

"I'd like to help with dinner," she said timidly. She eyed the chicken on the counter. "Unless you've learned how to cook, since last I saw you, Ben."

Ben released him from his arms and went to his mother, kissing the top of her head.

"No, mommy. I haven't. Thank you."

"I can help you," Hux said to her with a grin. He took a bottle down from the cabinet, and two glasses. "You and I can have some wine, while those heathens out there swill beer."

^^^^

Later that night, long after everyone had finally turned in for the evening, Hux found himself wide-awake and restless. Thinking that it was because he and Ben were in the basement, he got up and wandered up the stairs, intending to make himself some tea.

He was a bit startled when he entered the kitchen and saw the small lamp already on, and his father sitting at the table.

“Dad? What are you doing?”

Brendol turned, and Hux could see that he had one of the old photo albums from the bookshelf in the living room.

“Oh, sorry, Armitage; was I being too loud? I couldn’t sleep so I made myself some warm milk, and I saw this.”

Hux sat down at the table next to him, and couldn’t help but smile. Brendol had one of the few photo albums from Hux’s childhood in his hands, and he was slowly rifling through the pages.

“I haven’t looked through that thing in years,” Hux said, leaning closer to see.

Brendol lightly tapped the picture in the upper right corner of one of the pages.

“Do you remember this day?”

Hux nodded. He certainly did. It was his grade school’s fundraiser fair, and both his mom and dad had accompanied him to the Saturday activity. They had gone on the makeshift rides, Brendol had bought Hux so much cotton candy and soda that the small boy could barely contain it all. The funniest part of all, however, came when one of the teachers backed out of the dunk-booth at the last second. Brendol has surprised his wife and son by rolling up his pantlegs, and volunteering to be the decoy for over an hour.

Hux had stood with his face pressed against the glass, laughing with delight every time someone managed to hit the little target and send his father into the cold water. 

At the end of his hour, Brendol climbed out, sopping wet, and playfully chased down his wife and son to enclose them in his soaking arms. The picture that they were looking at now, was one that someone had snapped of the three of them, wet and laughing under the bright strings of lights.

“I remember,” Hux said in a low voice. “Mom ... she was having a good day, that day.”

Brendol briefly closed his eyes and nodded. The school fair took place about six months before Hux’s mother had died. Normally, her days were spent either receiving day-long treatments at the hospital, or laying in bed at home and recuperating from said treatments. But on this particular day, she had been so energetic, so full of spirit and life ...

“Fuck, I miss her,” Hux said, hardly aware that he was speaking out-loud. “I _miss_ my mom, so much.”

“I do, too, son.”

Hux’s head snapped up and he looked at Brendol, eyes blazing. “I’m sure you do,” he said, in a calm, cool voice. “Refresh me, dad; exactly how long had mom been in her coffin before you were dating another woman? One week? Two?” Here he paused and let out a bitter laugh. “Not that I hardly had a chance to get to KNOW your girlfriends, considering you were gone about 90% of the time.”

Brendol was silent for a long time, his hands toying with his glass of milk.

“I’m so sorry, Armitage,” he said, not looking his son in the eye. “I was a horrible father to you. I know this. I should have been there for you. If it makes any kind of difference, I just want you to know how fucking PROUD I am of you. You’ve got your priorities straight, and you’ve got your life together in a way I never did. I ... son, I can’t change the past. All I can do is work on the future. Please, give me a chance to be in your future, and to be a part of your life. _Please._ ”

Hux lifted his hand to wipe away the tears he could feel gathering at his eyelids. After taking a few moments to gather himself, he said, in a low, husky voice,

“How ... how about if, I took the day off from work tomorrow. Me and you, we can spend the day together. Just us. We can start with breakfast and go from there. What do you say?”

Brendol smiled and leaned over, putting both arms around Hux.

“I would like that very much, son.”

^^^^

Ben woke up the next morning to find Hux’s cot already neatly folded up, with a note saying that he and his father were going to be out for the day. Ben was surprised, but very glad, that the two were finally spending time together.

If only he could have escaped WITH them ...

He dressed and went to the stairs to find that all was quiet, meaning his own parents were likely still asleep. He knew that today would likely be tense for both of them, as Han wouldn’t have Brendol to spend time with, and Leia’s repairman wasn’t scheduled until almost 5 in the afternoon.

Ben thought that maybe he could start the day off right for them by making the two things he could actually cook well: French toast, and bacon. He was halfway done with a large stack of the eggy bread when Leia came out of his room with a smile.

“Oh, my baby made me breakfast!”, she exclaimed, kissing his cheek. He blushed and nodded. “I’m making some bacon, too, if that interests you.”

She shook her head as she sat at the table, helping herself to two slices. 

“No, thank you, Ben. When you get to be my age you’ve got to start looking at what you put into your body. Bacon would be much too fatty for me.”

“Actually, I’m sure I read somewhere that bread is worse for you than meat,” came a voice from behind them. Han walked up, his eyes still a little blurry from all he’d had to drink the night before. “So maybe you should lay off the sweet stuff and get some grease into ya, darlin’.”

“I don’t know what’s more amazing, here;” Leia said mildly, taking a small bite from her plate. “The fact that you _believe_ an absurd-sounding thing like that, or the fact that you actually READ something.”

Ben kept himself turned around, calmly laying strips of bacon neatly in the pan. He had to smile just a bit, at the irony: when he’d been younger, nearly ALL of the Solo’s breakfasts had started out like this one.

“I read a lot, Princess. Like those papers you sent last month.”

Leia made a shushing noise in her throat, but Ben turned around anyway.

“What papers?”

“Nothing, son,” Leia started to say; but then Han interrupted her with,

“A whole lot of legal mumble-jumbo all boiling down to one thing: your mom wants to divorce me.”

Ben quickly turned back to his bacon, so that his parents couldn’t see his face. A bit of grease popped up and painfully splashed the side of his cheek, but he barely noticed the pain.

Divorce?

“You didn’t tell him that, huh?”, Han asked his wife now, pouring himself a strong cup of coffee. “Always trying to shelter him, like he was still a baby. He’s a grown man, Leia; he can handle the truth.”

Before she could respond, Ben said, still turned around,

“You guys have been ‘taking breaks’ from each other since I was 5 years old. But sooner or later you always came back together. Always.”

Everyone was quiet for a while, and Ben forked the finished bacon unto a paper towel covered plate, before setting it on the table. He sat down as well, facing them both.

“Sometimes there can’t be an ‘always’, Ben,” his mother said, softly. “Sometimes you have to know when it’s time to give up the fight and walk away.”

“You know ... Hux and I fight sometimes, too. He’ll say awful things, I’ll say awful things, one of us will have to go out for awhile to clear our heads ... but in the end, at the very bottom of everything, I can’t imagine my life without him in it. Even when we’re fighting, I can’t imagine not having him to fight with. You guys ... you used to be like that, too.”

He stood up, grabbing his coffee cup.

“I ... I’ll be in the basement, for awhile. I have some projects I should be working on,” he said, and left them both sitting there, looking after him.

Ben didn’t the next two hours burying himself in his work. He was able to get a remarkable amount of progress made on his serious stuff, so he turned his attention to something ‘fun’; wedding invitations he was making up for one of his friends.

As he was feeling through different paper types, he heard his mother’s soft footsteps coming down the stairs towards him.

“Am I bothering you, baby?”

He shook his head and scooted over on his bench, to make room for her.

“Not at all. Maybe you can help me: I agreed to do my friends wedding invitations for free, as I owed her a favor. It’s a small ceremony, so there’ll only be about 20 people. She said to give her something delicate, but fun. What do you think I should do?”

Leia bent her head over the desk, and the two talked about the different styles of paper, and lace, and font and print designs.

After a while, Leia straightened up and said, a smile on her face, 

“Do you remember our wedding? Me and your dad’s?”

Ben nodded, smiling. Ben’s parents had lived together since before he was born, but didn’t get officially married until Ben was around 7 years old. Ben had been so excited about he concept of a wedding, which, to him, was just a big party where everyone dressed up fancy and there’d be a big cake. In reality it was just a small ceremony at their house, with a minister and a bunch of his parents friends.

“God, what a day that was,” Leia said, chuckling and shaking her head. “Supposed to have it outside but it was raining so we had to cram everything into the living room.”

“Remember when the minister tripped over those work-boots dad had left out, and his nose was bleeding for like 30 minutes?”

“It was longer than that; the man still had a piece of tissue stuffed up his nostril when he pronounced us man and wife!”

Ben laughed out loud at that, shaking his head.

“And that guy that showed up during the reception? What was his name? Kanji-something? Said dad owed him a lot of money, tried to start a fight?”

“That wasn’t fair,” said a voice from behind them. They looked; Han was making his way down the stairs towards them. “I didn’t owe him THAT much; not enough to warrant showing up to my house on my damn wedding day!”

“You were lucky uncle Lando was there, to help throw him out,” Leia observed, with a small smile.

Han leaned against the wall, folding his arms across his chest and looking at his wife and son.

“That wasn’t even the worst part of the day, though; it was what this one did,” he said, smirking and pointing at Ben.

“Come on, dad,” Ben said, blushing. “It wasn’t THAT bad?”

“Really?”, Leia said, grinning and putting a hand on Ben’s shoulder. “Because I remember it as being a doozy.”

“It was,” Han rejoined, nodding. “I’d still like to know who gave you that cup of wine, although I’ve always suspected it was my friend Chewie.”

“It couldn’t have been just a cup,” Leia disagreed. “So much vomit from a single cup of wine? A _cheap_ cup of wine, at that?”

“Oh, give me some slack here, guys; I was only 7!”

Leia turned to Han. “Do you remember what he said, right before he spewed?”

“I sure do. It was ‘The stinky water makes me feel funny’, and then it was EVERYWHERE.”

“At the time it was awful, but now, looking back, it was impressive. I don’t think there’s a thing he missed: he got your dress and hair, he got my pants, he got the drapes; he even got some on the cake!”

Ben started to laugh, so hard that he had to hold his sides for support. “THAT was the true casualty of the evening; do you know how long I’d been looking forward to that cake? And it was chocolate, too!”; and all three of them were laughing.

When it died down, Han said to Leia, softly,

“We were supposed to leave after the reception, to go on our ‘honeymoon’, remember? Luke was going to stay with Ben while we went to that resort for a week? But it took so long to clean everything ...”

“ ... it took so long that we missed our flight, and then we found out we couldn’t book another one for a few days, yet. So you said ...”

“ ... I said, I said, ‘Princess, don’t worry; I’ll make this house your resort, and every day will be a honeymoon for you.”

He sighed and shook his head sadly. “I ... I wish so much, that I had done better. For BOTH of you,” he said, including Ben in his gaze. “Ben, I should have been home more, made more of an effort to spend time with you. Leia, you truly deserved to have every day feel like a honeymoon, because that’s the feeling you gave ME, every single time I even looked at your face.”

“Even when we were fighting?”, she asked, sounding just a bit teary.

“Even when we were fighting.”

Ben cleared his throat and stood up, saying that he was going to go and get more coffee. He walked slowly up the stairs, leaving them alone to talk. He looked back when he reached the top; Han was now sitting on the bench next to Leia, and they were holding hands.

^^^

Several hours later, and Hux and his father had returned. Ben didn’t know what had happened between them, but he didn’t think he had ever seen Hux smile quite as widely around his dad as he was right then.

“Well, as much as it pains me to leave you all, I’m afraid I must be getting on to my sister’s house,” Brendol told them, after he had finished packing.

He went to Ben and put his arms around him. “You take care of yourself, and keep taking care of my boy for me.”

Ben nodded and smiled. “Don’t worry, I will.”

Brendol turned to Han and hugged him as well. “You and me, we’ve got to see each other more often, Han. You have my number; call me and we can go have some drinks sometime.”

Han laughed and patted him on the back. “Learn to hold your liquor first, then we’ll talk,” and the two burst out laughing.

Brendol went to Leia and gently hugged her, before kissing her cheek.

“Han,” he said, keeping his eyes on Leia, “You keep a tighter grip on this woman, here, or I promise you I’m swooping in and taking her. Then we’ll get married and turn our sons into _brothers_ , and that’d just be awkward for ALL of us.”

Everyone laughed, and Hux walked his dad out to his car. 

“So we’re on for next week, right?”, he asked, as his father tossed his suitcase into the backseat. 

Brendol nodded. “Hell yes we are. Ballgame at 2, dinner at 7.”

“Good. I look forward to seeing you, dad.”

Brendol folded his son into a tight, warm hug. “I love you so much, kiddo. I’ll see you on Wednesday. Goodbye.”

“Bye, dad. Take care,” he said, standing and waving as Brendol drove away.

The two of them had a long way to go, certainly. But after their talk today, after spending the day getting to know each other, Hux found himself more optimistic for their future than ever before.

Back inside, Leia was gathering up her things as well, preparing to go home for the repairman.

“Thank you for letting me stay, baby,” she said, kissing Ben’s cheek.

“Anytime, mom.”

Leia turned around and surprised Ben by yelling “Han! Are you coming?”

Han walked out of the bedroom, his suitcase in his hand. “I’m ready, Princess.”

Barely able to keep the sly grin off of his face, Ben asked, innocently, “Mom giving you a ride back to the motel?”

Lowering his voice, Han smirked and said, “More like I’m giving your mom a ‘ _ride_ , to —“

“Oh, ew, dad!” Ben exclaimed, covering his ears. “Christ, aren’t you guys too old for that?”

“You’re never too old for love, Benny . Or second chances, apparently.”

Leia chuckled and rolled her eyes. “More like 100th chances; but I guarantee if you keep making comments like that, you’ll find yourself with NO chances. Got it, Solo?”

Han nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

Han folded Ben into a hard bear-hug. “Love you, kid. Thanks for letting me stay. Now, as a B & B I’d rate this place a 8/10. Would have been higher but I take points off for not having housekeeping services, and having to buy my own beer. The Yelp review will be up on —“

“Okay, Okay; get out,” Ben said, playfully pushing his father towards the door. Han ran into Hux on his way out and he gave him a big hug, as well. 

“Keep an eye on my kid, there, Red; he’s all kinds of trouble.”

“Will do. Take care, Han.”

After Leia had hugged and kissed both of them again, she was off, heading down the stairs and to her car, where Han was already perched in the passenger seat. They took off down the road, taking the last bit of chaos of the week with them.

The quiet seemed very loud, in their wake.

^^^^

“What’s wrong?”

Hux sighed, shrugging his shoulders.

“Nothing.”

Ben got up from his place on the couch and sat down on the armrest of Hux’s chair. It was a few nights later, land Ben and Hux were relaxing together in the Iivingroom. Ben has been talking to Hux, telling him about his newest project, when he suddenly noticed how quiet and low-energy Hux was being.

“Something IS wrong,” Ben insisted, gently stroking through Hux’s hair. “You’ve been moping around like that since everyone left.”

“I guess ... I guess I miss them.”

Ben raised an eyebrow. “You miss them? You miss having all that hecticness around us?”

“It’s not so much that. It’s, I don’t know, having other people here made the house feel warm, in a way. And full. Not that it doesn’t feel full when it’s just us, but it felt fuller, you know?”

Ben nodded, and slid off the armrest and into Hux’s lap. 

“I get that, actually. I ... um, well, I know this isn’t something we’ve talked about in a long time, but ...”

“ ... but you’re thinking, maybe it’s time we started talking about the kids thing again. Right?”, Hux finished for him, putting his arms around his waist.

Ben nodded. “Yeah. It’s just, don’t laugh, but, I’ve really been thinking about the two of us, this week. And our families. And, really, there is so _much_ love here ... it feels like we’d have a LOT to give someone else.”

Hux smiled and pressed his face into Ben’s chest. “I feel that way, too. If you think we’re ready, then tomorrow I think we should start researching adoption agencies. Find out what we need, to qualify, and go from there.”

“I agree,” Ben said, kissing Hux’s forehead. “Shit, even just you saying that has my heart beating all fast. Can you feel that?”

“I can. But, just to warn you, I heard the process can be a long one, like months, or even years. So don’t get set on having a full house just yet.”

“I know, I know ... but hey, I know a way we can remedy that ...”

“What do you mean?”

“You remember me telling you about my client with the puppies, right? Well, they’re finally old enough to take from their mother. She said she’d save one for us ... IF we were interested, that is.”

“A puppy? If we did that we’d also have to go out and get puppy training pads, a leash, a collar, food dishes and food, toys, flea medicine, a whole bunch of stuff.”

Ben hung his head, nodding. But then Hux grinned and said,

“The pet store closes in 2 hours. Call your client, see if we can swing by and pick up our new baby first, so he or she can come along and help pick out it’s new things.”

Ben yelped and gave Hux a hard, smacking kiss, before leaping off the chair to go running to the phone. Hux watched him so before standing himself, a smile on his face.

This, like ALL things with Ben, was gonna be great.


End file.
